umnationsfandomcom-20200214-history
DJFM Industries Archives Division
DJFM Industries Archives Division, is the Audio & Video Media Archive Libarary of DJFM Industries (and by extension, the main archive of audio and video media of the Democratic Commonwealth Union Micronation and it's predacessors) since the commencement of the Archive in 1995. The archive contains many various types of sound & video media, both original compact cassettes dating back from the genesis of the DCU micronation - as well as unique or rare specimens of recording from the dot com boom, the modern era, all the way back to the pioneering days of radio and gramophone sound recording. The archive includes (but is not limited to): * A unique collection of over 300 compact cassettes, with the earliest DCU-originated recording being from the night of December 21st 1991 (see Radio SMASH International's history section) * over 100 digitally-remastered gramophone recordings (with a few dating back to the acoustic era of the early 1910s) with a standardised speed of 78rpm * over 350 digitally-transferred vinyl 'singles' with a standardised speed of 45rpm (or extended singles at 33rpm) * over 200 various VHS tapes, with numerious programmes & excerpts, as well as some early video recordings (though attempts are being made to restore these to digital formats - a higher priority is attempting to kill & remove the mould spores that have settled on many of these due to the difficult storage situation) * A large collection of partially-digitised vinyl LPs with a standardised speed of 33rpm (some original publishers have re-released many of these titles to music CD, making it easier on the digitisation process & leaving many of the LPs in excellent condition Gramophone Record Collection (78rpm) Noteworthy Collection Entries "Come and have a look at what I've got"/"Our little kiddie sings the best song of all"'' by Dancehall Comedian Billy Williams (AKA: Richard Isaac Banks) - Acousitically Recorded on October 1911 - Repressed with his signature on the 'A' side, by the Regal Label in December 1920'. There were many repressings of Williams' recordings long after his death in March 1915, due to the popularity he had garnered at his peak in 1912, only 6 years after his first cylinder & gramophone recordings in 1906. The quality of this well-preserved repressing of his 1911 acoustic recording, is excellent, with Williams' voice beckoning & making familiar references, even down through the ages, it really feels like you're in the same room as he thinks about his next whitty rhetort (showing just how matured in 1911 acoustic recording technology had become when compared with early 1920s electrical recordings) The record has been well-loved, since this copy was mainly played on an early cabinet radiogram in a farmhouse in the DCU heartlands for most of it's life, alongside being stored with popular cover recordings by the 8 inch 'long playing' Eclipse, Broadcast & Edison Bell labels, that during the 1930s were sold in Woolworths (affectionately known as 'Woolies') - these records have been lovingly restored & digitised. '"Songs my mother taught me (Dvořák)"/"A Summer night idyll" by Beatrice Harrison & Nightingales - Recorded Electrically, 3rd May 1927. 'One of many early electrical era recordings of live chello playing to responding nightingales in her garden over the radio for the British Broadcasting Company (pre-1926) and continued with the British Broadcasting Corporation (1926 onwards), using pioneering, highly-sensitive microphone equipment outdoors, broadcasting over 2LO as early as 19th May 1924 - the first outdoor broadcast of a natural sound scape of it's kind in the world, which brought the facination of nature into many British households for the first time, often on nothing more than crystal radio sets or early valve amplifiers - attracting around 1 million estimated listeners and repeat broadcasts. These 'natural sounding' broadcasts & recordings, continued under Harrison each year until around 1936 - enthralling audiences. The record, due to the early limitations of microphone technology & electrical recording methods, has been difficult to digitise - often with more mechanical turntable noise picked up - probably from the HMV recording equipment used in Beatrice Harrison's garden in May 1927, rather than any noticeable imperfections per sae in this pressing (which is once again in very good condition) meaning that if heard live via the BBC's radio network at the time, rather than on disc, the sound coming out we can imagine to be of a far higher quality than can ever be perceived on this record - making this still a fantastic addition to the collection. Noteworthy Digitisations of External Collections for Customers: "'''He Shall Feed His Flock"/"How Beautiful Are The Feet" Sung by John Hopkins (With Organ Accompaniment, possibly by Vivian Anthony Lewis of Colbeck-Lewis Recording Company Himself) - Recorded @ Llandaf Cathedral, July 1957 by The Colbeck-Lewis Recording Company onto Acetate Disc In South Wales, before the advent of accessible home & portable recording methods in the mid 1960s by way of Compact Cassette, and for higher quality music productions, recording companies still cut directly to Acetate or short-run pressings of discs. One of the bigger names was Colbeck-Lewis, who did a number of 78rpm cuts. A youngster at the time, Mr Hopkins thankfully kept hold of the disc of his singing of psalm-like hymns on, and had DJFM Sound Services digitise the well preserved acetate recording in May 2015 (link goes to DJFM Industries youtube video on the recording). It is however still a rare recording, as so far, only a couple of titles on the Colbeck-Lewis label have appeared or been catalogued. The Colbeck-Lewis Recording Company was founded by Cardiff's Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) Lecturer "Tony" Vivian "V" Anthony Lewis, whose media legacy became famous with the college, the cathedral and further afield, until Mr Anthony Lewis passed away on Christmas day 2006. We suspect upon closer examination that since he was an accomplished Organist, that he was playing the organ at the same time as recording John Hopkins' singing on that record. Vinyl Record Collection (LPs, Singles, etc.) The DJFM Industries Vinyl Record Collection, contains a number of exciting pieces that as of 2019, is in the process of a through digitisation effort, thanks to the restoration of a fully-working 1960s record change with new stylus, stereo cartridge & audio outputs (Received as a gift around 1996 from a neighbour that allowed the playing of gramophone records added to the collection - between 1999-2006, it was formerly based at DJFM Industries' second establishment near to the Welsh Borders, when it was used to playback much of this collection whenever DJFM Industries' founder came to stay, which with the flip-over double-tipped stylus, could play vinyl and gramophone records back. Noteworthy Collection Entries "Better Than A Dream"/"Dreamstone Ovature no5" by Mike Batt with The London Philharmonic Orchestra - Produced by Adventure Records Ltd on ADVTS 001 in 1990 (Added to the archive in 2018) This unassuming 45rpm single for fans of the Mike Jupp animated TV series 'The Dreamstone' (the full theme tune of the series, "Better Than A Dream" is featured on Side A), is a sought after part of animated TV soundtrack history - especially for kids growing up with Children's ITV (CITV) in the UK in the 1990s on Central Television. The show's indepth orchestral stereo soundtrack, made use of the fairly new NICAM Stereo transmissions of TV broadcasters at the start of 1991 and on VHS releases. Side B, labelled (possibly incorrectly by a typo) "Dreamstone Ovature no5"' '''''which is actually what should be considered 'ovature number 6', which for the most part is an orchestral instrumental of "Into The Sunset" (the sung version by Mike Batt and Bonnie Tyler, assumed to have been made to represent the relationship between two of the major protagonists Rufus and Amberley in the series). The B side's 6th and final ovature, was not released on the full soundtrack album - but shines a light on the creativity & potential future direction (including returning to some of the darker 'life & death' elements hinted at in the show's pre-production 1985 pitch showreel 'The Dream Theif' to develop the timeline of the characters further) of this much-loved series that has recently enjoyed a growing resurgence & fan following.